Hey everybody. Im 17 and I would like to try my hand at changing the oil myself for once. I know what i need to do, but what oil filter should i be using? I have no clue what i should be using, whether i should stick with the toyota or get a aftermarket filter from an autoshop. So what is everyone using? I have a box of 10w40 oil in the garage, is that stuff good to run? Or should i get some 5w30? THanks for all your help and input. I have a 1996 sr5 2wd 3.4l

 

A good link:

http://4runners.org/articles/oil/index.html

Otherwise, I usually use 10w-30, but, its dependent on where you live. Get thinner stuff if youre in a REALLY cold climate, and thicker if your in a really HOT climate.

I use Toyota filters, but, you could just as easily go with a Fram, or anything else. As long as you change your oil on a regular basis, you can use the cheapest filter and oil, IMO.

 

i have been using mobile filters. but thats just because i work @ nissan and we have aftermarket filters for non nissans. but for my next change im going to toyota to get the filters just because i want a toyota filter. you might as well get in the habit of using toyota stuff.
dont use the 10w 40, im not certain but i beleive toyota recommends 10w 30, i put 10w 30 in. if its not that its 5w30 check the manual to be certain. the oil brand dosent really matter, just buy something decent, synthetic or reg. oil is fine.
your gonna need a 14mm socket for the drain plug.
12mm socket for the bolts holding the skid plates( you can probably get @ the filter w/o removing the skid plate but you will get oil on the skid plate making a mess so just take it off)
also the 3.4 takes 6.5 quarts
that should be all the info you need, good luck and have fun.

 

Thanks for that link. So I shouldnt use the 10w40. I live in Socal so its neither hot or cold. I think it read that its 5w30, so i should go pick some up then.

 

5w30 is what you want. i use napa gold filters. many moons ago in high school shop class, the instructor had 5 or 6 oil filters cut open to look at the amount of material in each filter...like was said before (and is stickied to the top of the forum). napa gold/silver, wix, and purolater came out on top. the fram and ac delco had very little material in them and were less "wavy" to catch less sediment/debris. i'm sure the mobil 1, oem, k&n, etc.. filters are good-but haven't looked at their cross-sections. don't let the "bold-orange-so-everyone-must-be-using-it" image throw you off! i'll never use a fram filter after seeing the comparisons...good luck!

also, i think someone stated using a piece of garden hose and funnel to bypass the need for removing the skid plate. just a thought.

scott

 

5.5 quarts if I remember correctly... At least, thas what I use. hah.

 

have fun you need to take the skid plate off turn the wheel all the way to the left then snake your arm up to the filter ive been useing mobil 1 clean 5,000 in 10w30 and useing a napa gold 1516 filter its for a ford but its bigger

 

ok thanks good to know about the wheel. I was expecting to take the skid off. This should take ~20 min to do right? for a first timer.

 

Take the skid off, unless you want a mess. There are 4 bolts at the front, 2 in the center (deep) where the two pans connect and 2 bolts at the back.

 

Its gonna take longer than 20 minutes.

It took me an hour yesterday, but, my oil filter was seized on. I had to take a prybar and a sledge hammer, hit it on the side just to knock it loose.!

 

ah well 20 min, a hour it will be fun.

 

I also use the napa gold 1516 filter with great success. It's the same dimensions as the toyota filter accept its roughly 1.5 inches longer. Instead of taking the skid plate off, i just slip a plastic bag over the filter when i'm unscrewing it, the plastic bag will catch all the spilled oil.

 

And I made a funnel out of a plastic veggie oil container to drain the oil away from the skid plate and into the oil container. I just wedge it in there.

 

Its not bad at all just drop the skid plate, get a drip pan and a something to catch the oil. I use carb cleaner to clean up any oil from the filter.

 

im fairly confident about this, now i just need to find time to do it this week. Thanks for all your tips. if there are anymore that you have tried and had success with please let me know. thanks guys.

 

its really one of the easiest things you can do maintenance-wise to your truck, theres nothing to it and hard to mess up with irreversible results. i bought a big 16-quart container at my local auto place, i drain my oil to the top of that and it goes through a sealable cap into the container itself. this keeps me from accidentally kicking an open oil drain pan and making a big mess (which i tend to do from time to time). always keep your empty bottles to put used oil in and take back.

i have never removed my skid to do it, btu it may not be a bad idea. draining it there is no mess on the skid, but when you take off the filter on a 3.4, oil will drip down the side of the engine and collect on top of the skid, making for a good mess and tedious wiping. good tip on turning the wheel. i dont have to but i also have a good sized body and suspension lift so i can just reach through my wheel well. good luck!

oh and i always use castrol syntec 5w-30 and just your typical fram filter from walmart. changing every 3k-5k miles i dont need an expensive filter

 

ive found that putting the catch pan on a good and sturdy cardboard box is a nice idea. it prevents alot of the splatter, etc.

 

So as expected all went well. I started by doing my moms 03 v8 4runner. That thing was a PITA. Couldn't find a bucket around the house that would fit under there spilled about 1/2 quart of used oil all over the garage. But I got it done no problem. Then I did mine it was a piece of cake turning the wheel all the way to left made things a lot easier. I took the skid off just to make my life easier and to my surprise, there were all of 2 bolts holding it on. So made a trip the dealer and got 5 bolts for the thing and all is good. All in all very good learning experience for myself It was easy enough ill just do it myself until its time for a major service. Thanks for all your help.

 

glad it all went well. the only thing i can suggest is do NOT go to the dealer for such a common part like a bolt. they overcharge for everything. you could have taken one bolt to home depot/lowes and picked up 5 more like for probably under $4. anyway, that was a small thing. just tryin to save you some money!

 

Make sure you get the right grade bolt though. For something like the bolts holding on the skid plate it probably doesn't matter, but if you're dealing with suspension pieces or other highly stressed parts you'll want to make sure the bolt you get is strong enough. Not all bolts are created equal.